2011 Week 9 Recap

Eagles v. Bears, Monday, November 7, 2011

"They are who we thought they were." Not the Bears, of course. I didn't have a strong opinion of the Bears prior to last night, other than:

"Matt Forte or LeSean McCoy - who's harder to stop?"

and

"Brian Urlacher is a really good linebacker. I wonder what it's like to have a really good linebacker? That must be nice."

No, I'm talking about the Eagles.

I quote Tommy Lawlor: "There is something off with this team." 

Stud of the Week: I was going to go with Brent Celek for a little variety. Then Shady tied Steve van Buren's record for consecutive games with a touchdown. So once again, Shady wins Stud of the Week. He's my secret running back boyfriend.

And there were some other high points. Other than the bone headed play of not getting out of bounds at the end of the half, Brent Celek had a great game. And special teams did a great job preventing ANY big returns from Devin Hester. Which is REALLY REALLY hard.

But it wasn't enough.

The Eagles had the same old problem: an inability to play a complete game in all three phases for four quarters.

The defense was able to shut down Matt Forte, for two quarters.

The offense had a real spark, for two quarters.

And then...turnovers.

Mike Vick's pick in the red zone was bad. DeSean Jackson's punt fumble inside the ten was worse.

And then...dumb penalties.

The roughing the passer call that Jason Babin drew? Possibly a bad call, understandable, but it gave the Bears 4 points. The Nnamdi Asomugha pass interference call? One could argue that it just delayed the TD, since if he hadn't interfered, Johnny Knox only had daylight ahead of him, but aren't the Eagles paying him big bucks NOT to get beat one on one?

...

Yeah, the much vaunted defensive secondary pretty much made  Jay "Pick" Culter look like Peyton Manning.

Oh, and DeSean? Celebrating after your ONE catch that led to a first down? That's not the way to earn yourself a fat contract, in Philly or anywhere else.

Once again, the Eagles got down early, pulled ahead, and then gave up 13 unanswered points to lose the game. The only variable in that equation? The fact that it was 13 points.

The thing is, I knew the Eagles were dead when punter Chas Henry couldn't hit a wide open Colt Anderson on the fake punt.  My 8 year old niece has a bigger cannon than that. Right call - ATROCIOUS execution.

It's still mathematically possible for the Birds to make the playoffs, but they're basically going to have to win ALL their remaining games. Hear that sound? It's hope dying.

So we can all watch the rest of the games like Redskins fans, for entertainment value only.

After all that, though, the most horrifying image of the evening, the one that's seared into my brain until the day I die, is Big Red in shorts with Gruden during the Monday Night Countdown coach's interview.

Speaking of, are Gruden and Lance Briggs dating? I do not know, but there are unconfirmed reports that Chuckie left a mash note in Briggs' locker.

Around the rest of the NFL...I got KILLED in my picks.

Jets over Bills: WRONG. Damn, Bills, don't do me like that.

Cowboys over Seahawks: OK, I got this one, but so did EVERYBODY.

Texans over Browns: wOOt! Team of Destiny emeritus! (I did get this one, too.)

Falcons over Colts: Again, everyone, including me, called this. DeMatha could play the Colts and win at this point.

Dolphins over Chiefs: WRONG wrongy WRONG. NOW the Fins decide to start winning (literally now - 1 game winning streak). Thanks for nothing.

Saints over Bucs: Got this one, but the Saints are pretty much impossible to beat in the Superdome (no, I will NOT call it the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, just like it's National Airport, not Ronald Reagan National Airport).

49ers over Redskins: OK, everyone - other than all the people who live near me - had this one, too.

Broncos over Raiders: Muffed this one, too. Told you I had a bad week. Carson Palmer has lost two games with the Raiders. It would be three if they hadn't had a bye in between.

Bengals over Titans: I had this one, too. Redheads of the world unite!

Cardinals over Rams: Wrong. Again. Two rookies - QB John Skelton and special teams player Patrick Peterson - sealed the win. K2's career as a starter could be short if Skelton can keep winning.

Giants over Patriots: Wrong. First Super Bowl 44, then 2011 season week 9. Do the Giants have the Pats' number? Yes, and it's called "We have NO defense to speak of. Kthxbai."

Packers over Chargers: I got this one. And apparently both teams' defense got waylaid in the Gaslamp District and didn't bother to show up.

Ravens over Steelers: Wrong. When was the last time the Ravens swept the Steelers in a season? Has that EVER happened? You know, with my Eagles struggling, I'm looking for a bandwagon to jump on. Not for the season, mind you. I'll still root for my Birds with all my heart. But I do need a playoff team, since it ain't gonna be the Eagles. Maybe Ravens? Nah...Packers!

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2010 Week 8 Recap

Eagles bye week, Sunday, October 31, 2010 


In attendance: just me and Chef Spouse. And NINE MILLION trick-or-treaters. Seriously, I've never seen so many in my life. We gave away every bit of candy we had the in house before 9 pm, at which point it became "turn out the lights and hide" versus "start handing out potatoes." We opted for #1.

Menu: shrimp etouffee and absinthe frappes. Since we couldn't be in NOLA for the weekend, we decided to pretend we were.

Stud of the week: my system for my picks. With the MNF Texans/Colts matchup in progress, I'm 11 for 12 on the week. No, I did not use a Magic 8 Ball. I was going to tell you how I did it, but Chef Spouse said I should preserve the mystery. So you'll just have to marvel.

In other news, it was the week of 2 points:  safeties, made two point conversion attempts, missed two point conversion attempts, you name it. If it was possible to get 2 points in there some way, teams did it. Even when it made no sense, like early in the 3rd quarter.

On to the results:

49ers over Broncos: I called it. Also, I think Mike Singletary still thinks his 2-6 team is going to the Super Bowl, God love him.

Jaguars over Cowboys: I called it. So one of the questions of the week is will there be a coaching change in Dallas? Amazingly, enough other wackadoo stuff has happened that it's barely in the top 5 though. The thing about switching coaches DURING the season is that it's a pretty dicey proposition - if the Cowboys were going to do it, they should've done it a month ago, before their bye week. I think they're pretty much stuck with Wade for the rest of the season, although I'd be shocked if he's still coaching in 2011. I've heard Cowher and Gruden both floated as possible replacements, but I don't think either of them is dumb enough to want to work for Jerry Jones. Also, Gruden gets credit as a coach he doesn't deserve - he won the Super Bowl with Tony Dungy's team. And Cowher has repeatedly said he doesn't want to leave North Carolina until his kids are grown, which to me indicates that his only possible coaching destination, at least for a while, would be the Panthers. Anyway, moving on...

Dolphins over Bengals: I called it. But TO got two TDs, so he may not even be aware the Bengals lost.
 
Chiefs over Bills: I called it. Won in OT on a field goal that literally went through the uprights as time expired, the Chiefs leave the Eagles still holding the dubious distinction of the last tie.

Lions over Redskins: I called it. I don't know what reality Mike Shanahan lives in where Rex Grossman is a better option than Donovan McNabb to run the two minute offense down by 5. Even weirder? Now Shanny's changed his tune to "McNabb's too fat to run the two minute offense." RIIIIIIIGHT. All I can think is that he's thinking, "Well, after McNabb got benched against the Ravens in 2008, he played like a house afire for the rest of the season, taking the Eagles to another NFC Championship game that they only lost because them damn defense fell apart." Can I point on that on his VERY FIRST play from scrimmage, Sexy Rexy got sacked, coughed up the ball, and the Lions put the game away? And this is supposed to be coaching genius?

Rams over Panthers: I called it. The Panthers stink this year. Hmmm, about Bill Cowher....

Packers over Jets: This is the one I missed, although in my defense, I did say that according to my system, it was a push. I went with the home team. Oops. Who would've guessed it would be the PACK who pitched a shut out?

Chargers over Titans: I called it, even though I could hardly believe it. The Chargers are probably gearing up to pull their annual, "You gave us up for dead. But wait! We're not! We're resurrecting your hopes! Until the playoffs. Then we really are dead."

Patriots over Vikings: I called it. You did hear that Randy Moss got released today? Dude hadn't even had time to get his cable hooked up yet! His post-game press conference love-fest for the Pats sure didn't help things, particularly after he decided that he was going to WATCH the passes, but he sure as hell wasn't planning to CATCH them, but something more must've happened. Personally? I think it's some sort of Belichick plot, and somehow Randy Moss will end up back in New England after stiffing the Vikings for a few mil. What do you have against Minnesota, Bill?

Bucs over Cardinals: I called it. The Bucs are quietly sitting at 5-2. Did you know?

Raiders over Seahawks: I called it. Looks who learned how to win games! Speculation is rampant, in the wake of The Benching, that McNabb will be somewhere not DC next year. Oakland's been floated as a possibility. Think that would make Jason Campbell go postal?

Saints over Steelers: Another one I called. Believe in the system. Trust the system. Love the system. What system? Can't tell you. But let's see how I fare this coming week....

(Also, at the moment, the Colts are up 14-0.)

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